


Back to School

by LostinFic



Series: Hardy x Hannah ficlets [23]
Category: Broadchurch, Secret Diary of a Call Girl (TV)
Genre: Autumn, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, One Shot, Teninch Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-07-28 17:44:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16246649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostinFic/pseuds/LostinFic
Summary: Prompt: Maple SyrupOn the first day back to school, Hardy cooks pancakes for his daughter and Hannah. Tooth-rotting fluff ensues.





	Back to School

Hannah woke up to the sound of laughter coming from downstairs and a sweet scent in the air. Eyes still closed, she patted the bed beside her, seeking Alec, but his place was empty. She whined even if he wasn’t there to hear her. 

She wasn’t a morning person, and neither was he, but the demands of his life didn’t let him be a night owl, and since Hannah now shared his life, she had to get up.

Hannah remembered just in time that Daisy was with them this week; she returned to the bedroom to put on some clothes.

The sugary scent increased as she approached the kitchen. The table was decked out for breakfast with orange juice and newspapers, a stark contrast to their usual morning routine. More often than not, Alec ate a toast at work while Hannah only drank coffee. 

"Morning, Daiz,” Hannah said with a yawn.

She petted the teenager's hair. Daisy looked up from her plate just long enough to wave.

Hardy stood in front of the oven, flipping pancakes. Hannah wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. She rested her head against his back and hummed.

“You going to fall asleep on my back?”

“I might."

She closed her eyes, enjoying the soft cotton of his shirt and the scent of his soap.

"What’s the occasion?” she asked.

“Family tradition: pancakes on the first day back to school.”

“Thank you,” she whispered and laid a kiss between his shoulder blades.

It warmed her heart to be included in their family traditions, more than she ever imagined it would.

Even as he reached for a plate in the cupboard and placed a pancake on it, Hannah kept her arms around him. His torso vibrated with laughter against her cheek.

“This one’s for you. I even got the real maple syrup this time.”

“Ooh!” Hannah immediately released him and grabbed her plate. She hurried to the table, even sliding across the wooden floor thanks to her wool socks.

Daisy laughed and passed Hannah the bottle of syrup across the table.

“I’m starting to think you love that syrup more than me,” Alec said.

“Weeelll…”

“Oi!”

“Never. You’re my one and only sugar bear,” she said in a high, almost childish voice, while fluttering her eyelashes exaggeratedly.

“Call me that again and you can say goodbye to your coffee,” he threatened, holding the pot above the sink.

“No! I’m sorry!”

Alec joined them at the table, with his own plate of pancakes, a cup of coffee and one of tea for himself.

“Are you excited for your first day of school?” he asked his daughter.

Daisy pouted. The last year of secondary school was the worse, she couldn’t wait to be done with it. But she spoke with enthusiasm about the friends she would see again and the drama club she planned to join. None of them mentioned the photos of Daisy circulated by the boys last year, hopefully that was all behind her.

Daisy finished her plate in a hurry because Hannah had given her permission to look through her wardrobe for a jacket. She picked one in burgundy leather with a bedazzled middle finger on the sleeve. Hardy gritted his teeth, and looked at Hannah pointedly. He couldn’t tell his daughter not to wear something his girlfriend wore, and Daisy knew it very well. Hannah avoided his gaze by focusing on the maple syrup left on her plate. He sighed.

“Don’t tell your mum.”

Daisy smiled victoriously. She kissed her father on the cheek and Hannah too.

“Good luck, Daiz. Kick ass, yeah?”

“Han!” Alec protested.

“Should I not say that?”

“Thanks, Hannah, good luck on your first day too.”

Daisy wasn't the only one going back to school. As Alec cooked another batch of pancakes for the two of them, Hannah reflected on her decision to enroll in university. She anticipated stressful exams and a classroom filled with people half her age. She had never been a good student, but then again she had never been motivated as she was now. After the success of her two books, some magazines and blogs had reached out to her to write columns and articles. She’d really enjoyed that, but it was harder than writing about her own experience. To her own surprise, she found she wanted to write more about social issues related to sex and women, but felt ill-equipped to do so, hence this course in journalism and media.

Her first class was tonight.

Alec placed another pancake between them to share and let her pour syrup over it. She put her feet up on his chair, slipping her toes under his leg.

“You excited to go back to school?”

“Terrified.” She laughed.

“Don’t worry about it."

“Easy for you to say.”

“Well, I’ll go through this with you too.”

He looked at her, and the morning light turned his eyes a bright amber, not unlike the color of maple syrup. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, and he is a sweet man despite his gruff exterior.

“I couldn’t do it without you,” she said.

“I wouldn’t want you to.”

He took another bite of pancake and maple syrup dripped on his chin and shirt. Hannah swiftly straddled him. She licked the drop off his chin and shared it with a kiss.

“Can’t let you go to work with a dirty shirt,” she whispered against his mouth as her fingers reached for his buttons.


End file.
